


Greatness in the Making

by laurus_nobilis



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-04
Updated: 2012-12-04
Packaged: 2017-11-20 05:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bunch of school anecdotes about Clow Reed and Uric the Oddball.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Greatness in the Making

**I. Herbology**

They became friends during their first Herbology class. Clow later claimed that he had approached Uric because he remembered him from the Sorting, and he had a feeling that they'd get along. This was true; but it was also true that the Slytherins still felt wary about Clow, and that Uric was strange even by Ravenclaw standards.

They turned out to make a good team, mostly because Uric wasn't too successful when it came to handling plants – he always said that he liked animals better and couldn't wait for Care of Magical Creatures – while Clow had enough talent for both of them. He needed little to no effort to make everything grow and bloom and stay healthy for much longer than usual.

The real extent of Clow's abilities revealed itself the day that he somehow managed to get the whole greenhouse invaded by Devil's Snare and the professor nearly had to burn the whole thing to the ground.

When asked about what he'd done, Clow messily explained that he had just followed the instructions, and maybe he'd tried to be a little bit nice to it? The professor let it pass with twenty points from Slytherin and a severe warning, but didn't look at all convinced by Clow's story.

Uric believed him.

 

**II. Defence Against the Dark Arts**

Clow put down his book, groaning.

“I can't stand it anymore. You're so confusing in the West, always saying 'Dark Magic this' and 'Dark Arts that'. There's nothing _wrong_ with the dark.”

Beside him, Uric dropped his own homework. Green ink splattered all over the parchment, but he didn't seem to notice.

“How can you say that? Dark wizards are evil!”

“That's why I think you're confusing,” Clow replied with a grimace. “When you say that, you're talking about the way they use their magic, not about where it comes from. Darkness is a source of power just like any other.”

“... there are different sources of power?” his friend asked, blinking.

“Lots of them,” he said. He had to fight back the urge to add _didn't they teach you that?_ , but reminded himself that the Lis started unusually early when it came to magical training. His own father had been wary about that in the beginning. “Your magic is sun based, for example.”

“That's so interesting!” Uric said, with a very Ravenclaw shine in his eyes. “How can you tell?”

“I'm not sure,” Clow had to admit. “I'm used to it by now. It's just like noticing different colours or smells.”

“And the source of _your_ magic is darkness...”

“Yes,” he said, “but don't tell anyone. They'll misunderstand.”

“Don't worry,” his friend promised. He drew some doodles on the margins of his homework, distracted, and then came up with another question. “Then how would you call evil wizards?”

“ _Evil_ ,” Clow said, raising his eyebrows. Uric looked amazed.

“I would've never thought of that,” he said.

Clow buried his face in his book.

 

**III. Care of Magical Creatures**

“I told you I'd be good at this subject,” Uric said for the millionth time since they had started taking Care of Magical Creatures.

Clow didn't mind hearing it, though. It was perfectly true. Uric liked animals, and animals liked him. Especially the ones with... personality, he supposed one could call it. The stranger the creature, the more his friend knew about it.

“I thought you'd like this more, you know,” Uric told him, trying to keep a Bowtruckle still.

“I do like it,” he replied. “It's just a little different than I expected. I chose it because I thought I'd need it – I _know_ I'll have to deal with magical creatures in the future.”

“But...?”

“Somehow,” said Clow, “I think the creatures I'll be dealing with won't be like these at all.”

 

**IV. Transfiguration**

Uric had never been very comfortable with the idea of using live animals to practice Switching Spells. He liked them too much to see them on the receiving end of students' mistakes.

It wasn't so bad, Clow tried to explain to him; the professor was always there to fix things if they went wrong. Besides, they weren't doing anything beyond their level. His friend always grimaced and told him it was very easy to say that when he was absolutely sure he wouldn't fail.

Clow did enjoy Transfiguration, and was sure that it'd be useful to him in the future. He once managed to turn a cross-eyed cat into a stuffed animal, and then back into a cat – with its eyes looking perfectly normal.

Uric rolled his eyes at his triumphant grin, but reluctantly admitted that _maybe_ they were some good uses for it after all.

 

**V. Charms**

“May I read your notes on Drought Charms? I have no idea where I put mine...”

There was no answer. Clow looked up from the mess of books and rolls of parchments in front of him. Just as he had imagined, Uric was focused on the little sketches he was drawing on a used parchment. It was a collection of circles, arrows and stick figures. Oddly enough, it seemed to make sense.

“What's that?”

Uric blinked.

“I guess I was distracted,” he replied, grinning and slightly embarrassed. “I was thinking of the Bubble-Head Charm... If you combined it with an Engorgement Charm, couldn't it cover your whole body instead of just your head?”

A little voice in the back of Clow's mind told him he should remind his friend that they were supposed to study for their O.W.L.s, but he kept getting better and better at ignoring it.

“You probably need an Unbreakable Charm, too,” he said, and took the parchment to add his own set of diagrams.

 

**VI. Potions**

Uric looked at the cauldron and sighed. The golden colour of its contents was unmistakeable.

“ _Again_ , Clow?” he said. “You know you shouldn't take Felix Felicis too often.”

“It's not 'too often' yet,” his friend said with a shrug as he filled a small crystal vial. “And I'm not using it for cheating. At anything. So don't worry so much.”

“And exactly _what_ are you using it for?” Uric insisted. “You don't need it. There's no point in risking – ”

“The secondary effects, I know,” Clow sighed, rolling his eyes. “Really, Uric. You worry far too much. _I_ haven't seen any secondary effects.”

Uric snatched the vial from his hand.

“And _I_ think that sounds a lot like 'recklessness and dangerous overconfidence', you idiot.”

 

**VII. Divination**

Clow had tried Divination during his third year, and dropped it as fast as he could. He soon realized there was nothing that his professor could teach him. If he wanted to try Western techniques, there was always the library; he didn't see the need to waste his time on a useless class when he could be learning something _new_.

However, he had to admit his curiosity was piqued when some of his classmates started showing up in the common room with their brand new Tarot decks. Too proud to ask them about a subject he'd dropped, he resorted to the benefits of having a Ravenclaw as his best friend.

Uric didn't take Divination either, but he still managed to get his hands on a used deck, a large pile of books, and a frightening amount of details. Clow looked at the cards one by one, fascinated.

This was important. This was meaningful. This was... not quite right, somehow. He held the Chariot between his fingers, staring at it thoughtfully.

“I can do better than this,” he said at last, and smiled.


End file.
